Verbal slights exchanged prior to the top of the sixth inning between several USC Trojans and Oregon third baseman Thomas Walker and third base coach Jay Uhlman on Monday night at PK Park had the makings of developing into a physical altercation before cooler heads prevailed and play resumed.

When it did, No. 6 Oregon went to work, erasing a 3-1 deficit by scoring three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning and ultimately winning 6-3 to complete a much-needed sweep of the Trojans in front of 2,114.

“That animosity, at least our opinion about that, might have woke a sleeping dog up,” UO coach George Horton said. “Another example of how responsive our guys are. They got mad and they dropped a three on them and extended the lead.”

More importantly, Oregon extended its lead in the Pacific-12 Conference standings.

The victory restored the three-game lead UO (38-14, 19-8) had over No. 14 Arizona entering the weekend. The Wildcats (33-15, 16-8) swept California to briefly move to within two games of Oregon in the win column while the Ducks awaited Monday’s game, pushed back to accommodate USC’s graduation ceremony on Friday.

A UO loss would have created a precarious situation for the Ducks given that they have just three conference games remaining at No. 23 Oregon State while Arizona has six to play.

Several UO players said they have avoided following what other teams in the conference are doing in order to focus only on themselves.

“I didn’t even know Arizona swept,” said UO pitcher Jeff Gold, who got the win by allowing one earned run over six innings while striking out six.

“I couldn’t even tell you what we’re ranked right now, to be honest,” outfielder Aaron Jones said.

If ignorance is bliss, UO has found Eden. But that doesn’t mean they are to be trifled with.

USC led 3-1 when it retired Oregon in the bottom of the fifth. According to Horton, someone from USC’s dugout said something derogatory to Walker, who responded. Uhlman then said something toward USC’s dugout that prompted Trojans players to push toward the fence and some onto the field as more words were exchanged. The umpires got the situation under control and the game resumed.